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Maximize May: Up to 125k Points & 30% Transfer Bonus Available

Published 11 months ago • 3 min read

Hey Reader,

As the May flowers start to bloom, it's the perfect time to think about where you might want to head this fall. There's a 30% transfer bonus from both Amex and the Blue Bank to Virgin, meaning you can easily book business-class flights to Europe for a discount. Stay tuned for my next email (coming Saturday!), where I'll walk through 3 ways to maximize this transfer bonus.

Transfer bonuses are my bread and butter strategy for booking business class on repeat, so I love to see multiple banks offering bonuses (and I love teaching you all how to maximize them!). Plus, there are a few elevated card bonuses which make booking a business-class seat extra attainable.

If you (or your parents, I keep getting asked about this 😂) have a lot of points you're not sure what to do with, I offer free custom consults here.

Finally, I'm considering creating a course called "Upgrade University" focused on luxury travel using points. If you're interested, please join the waitlist. Your feedback will help me decide whether to develop this course!

May Bonuses 🌸
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Elevated Card Bonuses

  • ​Blue Bank Beginner Card: My favorite beginner card for earning points has an elevated 75,000 point welcome bonus (this usually sits around 60k). It has a low annual fee ($95) and you can transfer the points to 14 different hotel and airline partners (from Air France to Southwest to Hyatt and beyond). I highly recommend taking advantage of this bonus if you don't have this card yet (I personally signed up for it - as always, I promise to only recommend strategies I would adopt myself!).
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  • ​American Express® Gold Card: 90,000 point welcome bonus (this is usually 60,000) plus 20% back on restaurant purchases in the first 3 months (up to $50). This brings the fee down from $250 to $200, and given that you earn 4x points on groceries and dining, this card is well worth it. Want more detail? See my free guide to the Amex Gold here. ​
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  • ​The Platinum Card® from American Express: Seeing ~125,000 point sign up bonus when opening in an incognito browser. Every time I say I'm going to ditch my Amex, I find myself sipping champagne in a Centurion lounge or using the Digital Entertainment credit to watch Hulu and Peacock ad-free.

Transfer Bonuses

My favorite strategy for booking business-class flights on repeat is to leverage transfer bonuses, where your points go even further. Flexible cards like Amex, Capital One and the "Blue Bank" offer them regularly, and I love getting a ticket that would normally cost thousands of dollars for a discount on points. Here are the May transfer bonuses:

"Blue Bank" Points: (ask me if you don't know what this is!)

  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 30% Transfer Bonus through 6/15. Virgin is nice and most planes come with an onboard bar space. But, beware of the taxes 💰. Even when booking with points it can get close to $1,000 each way (though maybe that's worth it for a $5,000 ticket? 🤔). I'll walk through 3 ways to maximize this bonus in Saturday's email.

American Express Points:

  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 30% Transfer bonus through 5/21 (maybe they're trying to keep up with the Blue Bank?)
  • Aeromexico: 20% Transfer bonus through 5/31. I love Aeromexico for (surprise, surprise), flying to Mexico. They have great points deals and I think are underutilized.

You don't have to travel by these dates, just transfer your points. However I always recommend knowing how you want to use your points before you transfer them.

Nothing for Capital One this month 🤷‍♀️

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Upgrade University: How to Luxury Travel on Points

Ready to travel the world, in style, without breaking the bank? Upgrade University is (hopefully) coming soon to teach you how to turn your everyday spending into unforgettable vacations, thanks to points.

Join the waitlist to help me decide whether or not to create this course!

Hope this helps and feel free to reply if you have questions!

Cheers to your next adventure ✈️🥂,

Deryn and the team at Inside the Upgrade

​www.InsideTheUpgrade.com​

P.S. - If this email went to your Promotions tab, let Gmail know it's good content and move it to Primary

Let's get social | Join the ITU family on Instagram and TikTok​

Upgrade University | Your path to luxury travel, coming soon ✈️🥂 Join the waitlist.

Free Card Consultations | Not sure which card is right for you? I offer free consultations based on your goals.

Want to know my travel must haves? Check out my Amazon storefront (I think I might about 80 cents off these, so I promise I only recommend what I really believe in!)

You + Me, We're a Team

I always want to know what you want to learn. Feel free to reply to this email and let me know if you have any questions.

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I also offer free card consultations if you need a little more help!

Welcome to Inside the Upgrade

by Deryn

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